Bullies
by pacejunkie
Summary: After the car accident that puts Andi in the hospital, Sam is angry and begins to question his lot in life but is forced to go straight back out and capture another soul. Takes place after 1x13: Acid Queen


**Title:** Bullies

**Fandom:** _Reaper_

**Rating:** PG/K+

**Summary:** After the car accident that puts Andi in the hospital, Sam is angry and begins to question his lot in life but is forced to go straight back out and capture another soul. Takes place after 1x13: _Acid Queen_

**Word count: **5,105

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Reaper_, which is just as well because if I owned Sam I would do unspeakable things to him.

* * *

Sam took a taxi home from the hospital without even telling his friends he was leaving. He still felt shaky from his own ordeal, but his real concern was for Andi, Sock and Ben and what might have happened to them. It was Sam who had been driving, chasing down the escaped soul who shot acid from her hands like Spiderman's webs. He had been so focused, so intent of making sure that the former model was captured at all costs, so that she would never hurt anyone again.

How ironic.

The only one to cause harm that night had been Sam. Of course it was unintentional, but to Sam the difference mattered little. He should have been thinking of them, he ought to have been more concerned for the safety of his friends than his job.

But that seemed to be a luxury a Reaper couldn't afford. And that's what Sam was -- a bounty hunter for the Devil, charged with capturing escaped souls and returning them to hell. It was dangerous work by its very nature, which was why he had been reluctant at first to accept his friends' help. But Sock and Ben had been there for him from the beginning, insisting it was their choice. Knowing the risk – Ben had ended up in the hospital after an attempt to capture Sam's very first soul -- they still wanted to help him and that made them the best friends anyone had ever had.

But Andi. She was different.

Andi didn't know what she was getting into, had only been an innocent bystander tonight and now needed to stay as far away from Sam and his work as possible. Sam had already decided she couldn't even know what he did, because to even include her in the circle of knowledge would be enough to put her at risk, according to the Devil anyway, who right now was about his least favorite person in the whole world.

The Devil was the one who literally made Sam's life a living hell.

Sam returned to his empty apartment, downed two painkillers, changed and got into bed. He was determined to be asleep before Sock and Ben got back so he didn't have to talk to them. He needed time to process and to deal with what had happened. But even as he pretended to sleep, his mind whirred, exacerbating his already tremendous headache.

The fallout from the evening was huge. Up until tonight his thoughts had been on protecting Andi in the here and now, but now Sam understood it meant more than that. Being a bounty hunter for Satan meant he'd never have a normal life, never be able to fall in love, or have a family, like his friends one day almost surely would. This was a job that would haunt him until his own worn and battered soul joined the doomed down below. He was destined to spend eternity in the same place where he sent his captives. It reminded Sam that he was really no different than those escaped souls. He was a slave, just like they were, only the type that had been forced to turn traitor against his own kind.

A person like that would be denied the ordinary pleasures of life every day he existed on this earth. He had no future.

Sam told himself he had made a choice to do this, but his sensible side knew that he really had no choice, and for that he blamed the Devil, hating him more and more every day for what had become of his life since the day he turned twenty-one. Of course Sam could have blamed his parents, but in spite of everything he loved them, so it was easier to blame Satan.

He heard the click of the front door cutting through the darkness and quickly shut his eyes. By the time he heard Ben call out for him it already sounded distant and faint, and a minute later exhaustion took him.

It felt like he had been asleep for just a few minutes when he was awake again, standing in the middle of an empty fitness center. Sam was momentarily disoriented but recovered quickly, used to this by now.

But he was not in the mood.

As the Devil strolled out of the darkness to greet him, not a hair out of place as usual, Sam frowned, the very action causing the cuts and bruises on his face to ache.

"Don't you even give your employees sick leave?" he grumbled, touching his temple gingerly where he had received several stitches.

The Devil laughed. "You fall off the horse you got to get right back on Sammy, you know that. Just keep your mind on your work and you'll be fine."

"I feel like crap," Sam replied.

"Oh come now, it's not as bad as all that," he soothed. "This will be an easy one. I promise."

"Save it," said Sam. "I've heard your promises. Who's going to end up in the hospital this time?"

"You really _are_ down in the dumps," the Devil observed. "All right, you capture this soul and I'll give you a little time off. Would that make you happy?"

Sam turned on him. "You know what would make me happy? If for the short time that I'm on this earth I'm allowed a normal life! It's bad enough that my soul is damned but do you have to damn the rest of my existence too? And my _friends_? Will you be satisfied when they're all dead?"

The Devil actually looked taken aback at Sam's outburst. "Oh so _that's_ what this is about. I warned you about your friends, Sam. Remember that. If you want to spare them I suggest you keep them at bay, but I need you, which means you'll be just fine as long as you work for me."

"And if I don't?" asked Sam, but he already knew the answer to that one.

"Well then we have a problem," he replied, calmly. "Now can we get back to work?"

When Sam didn't reply the Devil produced a file and opened it. In front of them stood a man that appeared to be cut from solid rock, lying on an incline and bench pressing an obscene amount of weight.

"This is Otto Pfendler, a former professional bodybuilder," the Devil began. "In his day he was known as something of a bully, tormenting and eventually killing men who were weaker and smaller than he was."

"Sounds like you two have a lot in common," muttered Sam.

The Devil ignored the jibe and went on. "Now he works as a personal trainer, trying to sculpt the perfect physique for his clients. But if any of them fail, they're in for the session of their lives, the last they'll ever attend."

Sam took Otto in and then cast his eyes down. He lacked even the energy to ask questions. He sighed, reached out for the file which no doubt contained gruesome photos of the soul's handiwork…

…and woke up in his bed.

The vessel was at his feet. He sat up quickly to reach for it and stopped, groaning, as his muscles screamed out in protest. He was stiff and sore all over and wanted nothing more but to stay in bed all day, but he was sure the Devil wouldn't allow it.

When he reached out a second time, Sock and Ben were there in the doorway. They were both dressed, so Sam assumed it was late.

"I thought I heard you getting up, it sounded just like my arthritic granddad," said Sock.

"How are you feeling Sam?" asked Ben.

"Fine," he said, ignoring the pain and reaching for the vessel. "You guys okay?"

While Ben nodded, Sock's attention was on the wooden crate that they all recognized. "You've got to be kidding me. _Again_? The Devil doesn't waste any time does he? The guy's worse than Ted. What's he trying to do work us to death?"

"No," muttered Sam. "I'm pretty sure it's just me."

Ben and Sock looked at each other and then back at Sam as he lifted the lid on the box. It was smaller than usual but had the same look of evil about it with the carvings and handles. Sam reached inside and pulled out a small electronic device about the size of a pager with a belt clip on the back.

"Hey, I know what that is," said Ben over Sam's shoulder as Sam examined it, "it's a pedometer. My mom uses one when she goes on her walks. It counts the steps you take and the calories you burn."

"How's that thing supposed to capture a soul?" asked Sock.

"The soul is a bodybuilder and a personal trainer," said Sam. "He works at a gym near here. I saw it when the Devil took me there. He kills his weakling clients."

"That's got to be bad for business," said Sock.

Sam didn't have the faintest idea how he would use the vessel but at the moment he didn't care. He tossed it aside on his bed and got up to get dressed.

"Guys I don't think I'm going in to the Bench today," said Sam. "Tell Ted I'm sick."

"We're all taking off today," said Sock. "We were in a car accident, remember? With Andi in the hospital I think Ted can see it in his heart to give us the day off -- especially if he's not given the opportunity to say no."

"That's right, Andi," said Sam. "She's going to need a ride home today. I'll go over and see her."

"What happened between you two last night?" asked Ben.

Sam looked at Ben, wondering how much Ben already knew. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you just left without telling us you were going," he said. "What did she say to you?"

"Nothing, she just…" he stopped and started again, "She's innocent in this, is all. I just don't want to put her in any more danger. So I told her we couldn't be more than friends."

"Does she know why?" Ben asked.

"No, and I don't intend to tell her. Even knowing about this is risky, you guys know that," said Sam.

"You mean the chick with the vicious corrosives flying out her fingernails wasn't a clue?" asked Sock.

"She remembers everything, she just doesn't understand it, and I want to keep it that way," said Sam. "For her own safety guys, please don't tell her."

"All right," said Ben, "so let's go after macho man. If he works at a gym we can go there and pretend we're signing up for trial memberships. That'll get us close to him."

* * *

The gym was called The Body Shop and despite their tracksuits, Sam felt he and his friends were still a bit conspicuous when they walked in. Everyone at the establishment was already well built. Sam had the vessel clipped to his belt; he scanned the room for the soul but didn't see him anywhere as Sock explained that they were there for free trial memberships. They filled out forms, pretended to work out a bit as they checked the locker rooms and the weight machine area but he was nowhere to be found. Finally, Sam asked another trainer if Otto Pfendler worked there.

"Yeah," the trainer said, "he starts at three today."

They couldn't pretend to be working out for two more hours so they left and waited in the parking lot, hoping to confront him alone. If the Devil was to be believed, which was doubtful, this was supposed to be an easy catch. Sam hoped they could nab Otto quickly so he could get on with his much deserved break.

While they waited in his car, Sam called Andi at the hospital. She was being discharged at four o'clock and Sam promised to meet her and drive her home. It gave him another reason to get this done with crack efficiency. But three o'clock passed, and then three thirty and still no Otto. Fifteen minutes later, Sam was out of time.

"I have to go," said Sam, starting the car. "I'm going to be late to get Andi. We'll have to get him later. I knew the Devil wasn't going to make this easy, the liar."

"Well just leave us here, we'll wait for him," said Ben.

"No, you're not confronting an escaped soul without me," said Sam. "I don't even know if the vessel would work for you."

"Well if it did it would help you out," said Ben. "We don't mind, do we Sock?"

"Hell no," said Sock. "I had bully training in my formative years. He can't scare me."

"No guys really, I think we should be together," insisted Sam, still thinking of Andi in the hospital with a concussion, and reluctant to send his friends into danger without backup. "I'll drop you off at the apartment and then I'll meet you back there in an hour. We'll go back tonight."

* * *

An hour later and Sock and Ben were back at the apartment still waiting for Sam.

"Do you get the feeling Sam's heart isn't in this soul grab?" asked Sock as he and Ben played darts, taking turns at the photo of Ted on the bulls-eye.

"It's not hard to see why," said Ben. "He's damned for eternity and now he feels like he's pulling his friends down with him."

"Well I know he's upset about Andi but he's got to know we don't feel that way," said Sock, nailing Ted right between the eyes. "We ought to help him. Sam needs a vacation. Let's catch this soul on our own."

"We can't, you heard what he said, the vessel might not even work for us," said Ben.

"But it might, we don't know that for sure, and if it does, we could be like a tag team, taking shifts and lightening the load. Why should Sam have to do all the work?" asked Sock.

"Because he's the bounty hunter who works for the Devil, and we're… not?" tried Ben.

"Don't try and work your logic on me, Benjy, because it won't work. We can do this, we can do it for Sam," said Sock, undeterred.

"You realize how mad he'll be if we end up getting killed?" said Ben.

"Yeah, but by then we'll be too dead to care," said Sock, "Let's go."

"Comforting words," said Ben as they picked up the vessel and slipped out the door.

They were no more than three steps down the hall when they were stopped by their neighbor Steve, the demon, coming home with a bag of groceries.

"Hello Sock, Ben," greeted Steve, "Where's your better third?"

"Oh, he's uh…uh," started Ben until he was elbowed by Sock.

"He's at the gym," said Sock, "and we're going there too…to meet him and… work out."

Steve gave Sock an appraising look up and down before remarking, "I didn't know you worked out Sock."

"Oh yeah, all the time. When you work at the Bench you got to stay in shape with all the lifting and… stocking and… that," said Sock, demonstrating with his arms as he spoke.

Steve looked even more incredulous but waved them off as he entered his apartment. As soon as he was gone, Ben and Sock took off down the hall.

"That was real smooth," said Ben.

* * *

"So are you sure you're okay?" Sam asked Andi as he walked her to her porch.

Her bandage had been removed and after a night of observation they had discharged her to recuperate at home. Despite the assortment of contusions that they both shared, she was looking better just by virtue of being up and dressed. She had told him that she was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed that night.

"Yes Sam, really. You can stop asking me that now," Andi replied. "You're still not going to tell me what you're up to?"

"Andi, you have to believe me when I say I can't," he said. "It's safer for you if I don't tell you."

She looked at him critically. "It's not illegal is it?"

"No," he said with a smile. "Absolutely not."

She thought and tried again. "Are you working for the government?"

"I'm not working for the government. Look Andi, I don't want to play twenty questions because I really can't tell you, but it's something big and it's important and when I act strange or tell you I can't be with you, it's because I'm doing this… other thing. It's not something I want to do, but it's something I have to do."

"You know if it hadn't been for the fact that I saw it with my own eyes I would still be angry at you," she said. "But whatever I saw, it was strange, so I trust you. There's just one thing."

"What?" he asked.

"I know you're worried about me," she said with a crack in her voice, her forehead deeply creased, "but who's looking after you?"

He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to reach out and kiss her more than he ever did before. She was concerned about him. She may not have known what was going on but she had seen enough to know it was dangerous. He wanted to confide in her, to unburden himself, but he knew it would be selfish of him. She was scared enough without knowing he was damned for all time.

Instead he smiled shyly, gazed off somewhere in the vicinity of his shoes and said very quietly, "I'll be fine."

* * *

When Sam got back to the apartment, he expected to find Sock and Ben waiting for him, but all that greeted him was a large empty space. Before he had a chance to figure out where they had gone there was a knock at the door. He opened it to find his neighbor Steve.

"Sam I was in that little specialty grocery today and I picked up that mango tea you liked," Steve said, handing him a box of tea bags.

"Oh great, Steve thanks," said Sam absently, taking the tea. "Hey have you seen Sock and Ben around?"

"Now that you mention it, what are _you_ doing here? They said they were going to meet you," he answered.

"Did they say where?" asked Sam.

"Well they did, but to be honest I didn't believe them," said Steve, laughing. "I mean, I didn't know you all worked out. They said they were going to the gym."

Sam's eyes went wide and he ran to his bedroom to find the vessel. He did a lightning fast search of the bed, the floor and the bureau. When he came back out empty handed and breathless Steve look alarmed.

"Sam, is everything all right?"

"Yeah Steve, everything's fine, but I gotta go," he said as he ran out the door. "Can you lock up? Thanks for the tea."

_Damn them,_ he thought as he ran. _What were they trying to do, get themselves killed? As if I didn't have enough to worry about._

* * *

"So you two ladies are here for the free personal workout regimen?"

Ben was tongue tied in the face of the largest man they had ever seen, so it was fortunate that Sock was able to do the talking.

"Yes, we've been working out for many years but our regular routine of protein shakes and running ten miles a day just isn't working for us anymore," said Sock, puffing up his chest.

Otto looked down upon them and sneered as if he just stepped in dog doo, "Yeah, I can see that."

"So we thought weights would help," Sock added. "You look like a strapping young gentleman yourself. What do you bench, 150, 200?"

"500."

"_500?_" Sock swallowed. "That's not… human."

Sock was silenced by the feeling of Ben's foot stomping on his own. They didn't want to let on that they knew this guy was an escaped soul.

"Are we going to waste time talking about it or are we going to get to work?" said Otto, leading them towards the weight machines. "Judging by you two, it looks like there's not a minute to lose."

Ben didn't know what it felt like to shake in his boots, but he knew the feeling of pissing his pants. Before that could happen he excused himself. "I think I'm gonna check out the locker room first, maybe hit the sauna."

Before Sock could stop him he was gone. Ben must have assumed that they weren't going to catch the soul in a crowded gym anyway, and would have to wait until it emptied out. Until then, his friend was gathering his courage – by cowering in the bathroom. Sock was fine with it for the moment – this guy was all muscle and no brain, he could handle him – but he would be lying if he said he was completely comfortable with the fact that Ben was the one who had the vessel right now.

They fooled around at the machines for a while, Sock trying his best to impress so he didn't come off as weak and a potential target, but still the soul regarded him as if Sock were a gnat to his tarantula, a Pinto to his Hummer. Sock wasn't sure if he could keep up appearances, but as long as they weren't alone, he assumed he was safe. The next thing he knew thirty minutes passed, and Sock looked around to notice the gym was starting to clear out for the night.

"I think I'm going to check on your friend," said Otto with a hint of disgust. "It's not safe to be in the sauna too long."

Sock took a break and caught his breath while he waited, keeping his ears open for screams in case the soul was up to something. He wished he could have gotten his hands on the vessel somehow; he was now the only one in the weight room and he could have taken Otto by surprise when he got back. Maybe Ben was planning the same thing, he thought, an ambush.

* * *

Ben left the vessel with his clothes in an empty locker and dressed in a towel, entering the steam room. His plan was to enjoy the sauna, and then wait until the locker room cleared out; catching the soul after everyone had left. The steam felt wonderful. Ben chatted with a patron or two and then began to feel drowsy. The hot, moist air was like a sedative. He dozed.

Ben had no memory of the last person leaving the sauna room, all he knew was that he woke up at some point and got up to leave only to find the door locked.

Otto returned to the weight room. "Your buddy's fine, he said he'll be out in a minute. Let's move on to free weights."

_No ambush,_ thought Sock. _Okay, Ben must have some other ninja move planned. I'll just play along and give him his opportunity to strike when Otto's back is turned._

Sock lay down on a bench under a barbell and Otto started adding weights to the ends. "Try that," said the soul, when he had placed an equal amount of mid-sized weights to both sides.

Sock cracked his knuckles and took hold of the bar. It was heavy but not too bad. He lifted it up and started to press it, when he heard muffled cries from the locker room area.

"What's that?" he said, lifting his head, "Is that Ben?"

As Sock spoke the words something didn't feel right. The weights were getting heavier. He turned his attention back to his predicament as he looked up into Otto's face hovering above him. The soul's eyes were flaming red. Sock looked at the weights he held…

…and saw that they had somehow doubled in size.

He struggled to hold them up, to keep the barbell from crushing his neck, but he was stuck at the halfway point between the rack and his throat.

"Hey!" Sock groaned to Otto, "Help me out here! I can't lift it!"

But Otto just watched. His voice changed to something silky and entranced. "You're doing fine," he crooned, "maybe just a bit more weight."

The weights grew larger again all on their own, as though they were balloons being inflated with lead instead of air. He was losing now, the bar barely an inch from his windpipe. His face red, Sock's muscles screamed and ached. He tried pushing out to move the barbell lower, at least it would be less damaging if it landed on his chest, maybe crack a rib or two, but it only wanted to go straight down. He couldn't move it at all. In the background Ben continued to scream and bang on the door.

* * *

Sam entered the fitness center, and the first thing he heard were anguished cries. From a distance he saw Sock on a bench press at the soul's mercy and froze. His friend needed his help, but the soul was blocking Sam's path and without the vessel, Sam couldn't capture him. He listened again and heard another cry from his left and a banging sound coming from the locker room. Sam dove in there and found Ben trapped in the sauna. He unlocked the door, and Ben practically fell out on top of him. Sam grabbed him and helped him to the bench.

"Ben, Sock's in trouble," said Sam, "where's the vessel?"

"It's in the locker," Ben said, panting and wiping the sweat from his face.

Sam opened a locker but it was empty.

"No, that one," said Ben, pointing in the general direction of a few. His eyes spun like he was dizzy.

Sam wanted to ask Ben to help but his friend was too exhausted from being locked in the sauna for who knew how long. Instead, Sam whipped open door after door until he saw a pile of clothes with the pedometer on top.

"Get dressed and help Sock," Sam said as he ran out, clipping the device to his belt.

Sam ran out to where Sock was still struggling with the last of his strength, the barbell practically resting on his neck now, his voice strangled. He stopped a few feet from behind the soul and began pushing random buttons on the pedometer but nothing happened.

Finally, in desperation, he called out to get the soul's attention. "Hey! Leave him alone!"

Otto straightened and turned, and then began to move toward Sam. Sam fiddled some more with the vessel but couldn't get it to work. Before Otto was upon him he turned and ran across the room. It was as Sam started to move that he felt the pedometer vibrate. He looked down and saw a shimmering glow appear around it like a hellish halo. Then he stopped, and so did the device. It was then that Sam knew that it would only work if he was moving, like any pedometer would. The trouble was, he thought as the soul chased him in circles around the machines, how would he capture him if Sam were running in the opposite direction?

He wouldn't, he realized. The only way to stop a bully was to confront him.

Sam stopped and Otto did too, thinking he had Sam cornered and he was giving up. To his left Sam saw Ben emerge from the locker room and run to Sock. Ben tried to lift the barbell but it was too heavy for even the both of them. Still, Ben kept it raised just enough to keep Sock out of danger for the moment. Sam turned back to the task at hand – the escaped soul that stood four feet in front of him.

He was sick and tired of his friends getting hurt by bullies like these, and like the Devil. The Devil had been bullying Sam since first revealing himself to him and Sam was sick of that too. This wasn't junior high; he didn't have to take that from anybody. He hated him. Sam drew up his anger and resentment and directed it all at Otto. Then with a running start he sped straight for him, jumping onto a weight bench and pushing off, arms out in front, prepared to do whatever it took to protect his friends and stand up for himself.

Sam's kamikaze move took Otto by surprise. With eyes wide he put his own hands out and the two collided and fell back, rolling on the floor in a death grip, the vessel spewing out a mess of color and light. The soul had his hands around Sam's neck now but an instant later, the grip loosened and Otto dissolved, disappearing out from beneath him. Sam fell heavily to the floor, the wind knocked out of him, and all was quiet again.

"Sam! Help!" called Ben, whom Sam had forgotten.

Sam dragged himself up and ran to where Sock still lay. Between the three of them they lifted the barbell and placed it back on the rack. Then they helped Sock sit up.

"Sock are you okay?" asked Sam, who wasn't feeling very okay himself.

Sock's face was still red and he looked shell shocked. "Yeah," he said, "Thanks bro."

"Don't mention it," said Sam. "Can I kill you now?"

"We were just trying to help you," said Ben. "You seemed so stressed out over Andi and we thought we could do this for you and give you a break."

"I know," Sam sighed, "and I appreciate it, really. But this is about me, and it's something I have to do. You can help, but you can't do it for me."

"We get it. You're the Reaper," said Sock. "We're just the Alfred and Robin to your Batman."

"That's the thing," Sam said, sitting down on the bench besides Sock. "I think I get it now too. I'm the bounty hunter, and there's really no running away from that."

Owning his destiny didn't feel as empowering as he had hoped. Sam knew he had still been thrust into a situation not of his making, but it was the hand he had been dealt, and he had to deal with it. It may not have been much of a life but it was life, such as it was, and he had friends that were there beside him helping him through.

Sometimes that was all a person could ask for.


End file.
